1987 Mercedes-Benz TN Van 307D 2.4 diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Slow, but will always get you there

Faults:

Lots of rust on the bodywork and doors. It's now 22 years old, but I remember these things when they were current and rust protection was never very good. The front wings have also suffered badly from corrosion.

Clutch master cylinder broke.

General Comments:

This was purchased as a camper van, I have to say its extremely dated, even when comparing it to a late '80s Transit, in the way it drives.

Has a vast interior, but man it's so slow!

Mine has a weird dog leg ultra-low first gear, apparently only needed when heavily loaded, I find it too low geared in general. 65 mph is its comfortable cruising speed, any more and it sounds like a rod is going to pop through the bonnet.

The gearchange takes some getting used to, it's very sloppy and you really have to feel for the gears.

Economy not bad for its size, 25-30 mpg.

Uncomfortable to drive, steering VERY heavy, engine very noisy.

Restricted access to engine due to semi-forward control/semi cabover design, much like an old Bedford CF

For all that, it's never had a thing go wrong with the engine and always starts on the first revolution of the crank, even in freezing weather.

1987 Mercedes-Benz TN Van 307D LWB SHR 2.4 diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Useful if slow load carrier

Faults:

Heater fan not working.

Pretty bad rust on the bodywork (it's 22 years old!)

Oil leaks from the engine.

General Comments:

How things change!! Its incredible to think that the Bremen factory was still churning these things out as recently as 1995! It's seriously outdated in the way it drives, performs, comfort etc, yes I know it's already old, but compare it to something like a 1986 Transit or VW Transporter/LT and it still seems like it's from an older generation - it even has a separate idle speed controller on the dash for cold starting, how quaint.

Non-assisted steering is seriously heavy, The gearchange seems to be set up for LHD, even though it's a RHD; you really need to reach for it and the gate is very imprecise.

The semi-forward control layout means the engine is in the cab with you, and gets a bit noisy whilst traveling, and also means some engine jobs are very tricky because of poor access.

Performance is not the disaster you would think; it uses the OM616 inline 4 naturally aspirated diesel from the 240D saloon cars, producing around 68 bhp. No ball of fire, but thanks to decent gear ratios, satisfactory (if noisy) progress can be made as long as you don't climb too many steep hills with a heavy load on. It's still pretty good on fuel however, considering it's a big, heavy bluff fronted van, anywhere between 25-35 mpg, and it will hold an amazing amount of stuff in the cargo area - it's massive.

Pretty much any part you may need is still available new, which is a plus.

Of course, the other thing in its favour is the Mercedes reliability - this comes from an era before everything was controlled by little black boxes, and before Mercedes was run by accountants. Mileages of 500,000 have been known on these machines, a benefit of the relatively unstressed engine (small power output for its capacity).

If you have the choice, I'd go for one of the 310 5 cylinder versions for the extra performance.